Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat

DONKEY KONG: JUNGLE BEAT

Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat is an odd one. I could very easily have included it in my main series run of games, but it's so radically different from every other main title, I felt it belonged in a separate category. The game was the series' main outing for the Game Cube and ran on the bongos gimmick that Nintendo pushed really hard back at that time.

The game stars Donkey Kong, going on an adventure with literally none of his friends or supporting cast at all, his moves built around what can be done with the bongos. He could run around, jump, and bounce, his main form of attack being a sudden flurry of punches that later influenced his current final smash. He could swing from ropes, fire himself from some kind of flower? cannon, and he could launch a sonic attack as well. He was also helped out by a series of helper monkeys who would work together to throw you from place to place and form a rope swing. He also had one animal buddy in the form of Hoofer, a water buffalo who functions more or less the same as Rambi.

His villains, at least as far as the game's marketing suggested, were four Evil Kings, though there were other sets of bosses and a final boss as well. The four Evil Kings included Dread Kong, Karate Kong, Ninja Kong, and Sumo Kong. Donkey Kong would face these four on top of high mountains and compete in basically boxing matches with them. As such the four kings would mostly punch, though Karate Kong and Ninja Kong added in kicks, while Sumo Kong would stomp the ground and grab you as well. Honestly, if it weren't for them being the best option available for a reference character to the game's gimmick, I'd say they didn't have a chance. As it is though . . .

The other types of bosses included the Rocs, four large birds who fly around, drop eggs, shoot feathery darts and drop meteors on you; the Hogs, giant pigs who hop around and throw electric coconuts at you; and the Tusks, giant elephant tanks that shoot bombs and missiles from their trunks. The final boss is some kind of warped, ghostly version of the Evil Kings, riding a giant pig, called Cactus King and Ghastly King, they swipe at you, breathe fire, and throw fireballs.

We see a number of enemies throughout the game, which I will list now: Flurls, squirrels who inflate themselves like parachutes; Helibirds, who carry you upward; Orcos, fast orcas who swim around; Pig Poppos, little round pig things that can blow you away; Karikaris, little rats that latch onto you; Pea Frogs, who inflate; Snow Moles, who obstruct your path; Bees that spin and fly; Coco Pigs, who sit in trees and throw coconuts; Bakkies, various types of bats; Gorumondo, an armadillo who spins really fast; Kobu Kokkos, weird giant chicken-head things; Snow Men; Banana Squids and Jellyfish who swim around; Dan Spiders, giant spiders who move back and forth; Mini Igas, weird ghost things that float toward you; Rolling Frogs; Tar Men, giant tar creatures that spit projectiles at you; Mini Pandas, who dance and perform sonic attacks as well; Slump Birds, who fly; Iguanagon, a giant lizard who chases you; and Ninjapes, ninja monkeys who attack with katanas, shurikens, or lightning.

We have a number of stages, mostly across a random assortment of biomes, I guess it would be easiest to just list them: Dawn Savannah (savannah), Jungle Deeps (jungle), Silver Snow Peak (snow), Sky Garden (sky), Monkey Fest (night), Desert Oasis (desert), Massive Canyon (cave), Ice Warren (snow), Helibird Nest (sky), Spirit Tree (tree), Rumble Falls (waterfall), Pristine Sea (water), Chopperbird Race (sky), Cactus Mine (desert), Sweet Paradise (sky), Primeval Ruins (ruins), Aurora Glacier (snow), Grim Volcano (volcano), Arctic Plunge (snow/water), Ancient Foundry (volcano), Iguanagon's Realm (snow), Banshee Swamp (haunted), Battle for Storm Hill (battlefield), Aerie Fortress (fortress), Deep Sea Sprint (water), Clock Tower (clockwork), Helibird Dash (sky), Lava Cavern (volcano), Cloudy Heights (sky), Magma Coliseum (volcano), Ninjape Rally (night), and Asteroid Belt (space).

The items of course include mostly bananas to be collected.

Let's see what we've got:

Characters:
Donkey Kong: run, jump, bounce, flurry of punches, swing, flower cannon, sonic attack, helper monkeys, hoofer, flurl, helibird
Diddy Kong Racers (Diddy, Timber, Pipsy, Banjo, Conker, Bumper, Tiptup, Krunch, Drumstick, T.T.): drive, fly, boat, boosts, missiles, oil slick, mine, bubble, shield, magnet
Barrel Blast Racers (probably Kalypso): fly, boost, wild move, prop monkey, parrots, banana fairy, blazing banana, melons, coconuts, mini-necky, mini-zinger, whirlwind, backwards barrel, TNT barrel, pineapple launcher.
Wizpig: fly, run fast, lightning, teleport, lasers, missile, spaceship
The Evil Kings: punch, kick, stomp, grab, reference character (see: Donkey Kong moves above)

Bosses:
Tricky
Bluey
Bubbler
Smokey
Rocs
Tusks
Hogs
Cactus King and Ghastly King

Stages:
Dino Domain
Snowflake Mountain
Sherbet Island
Dragon Forest
Future Fun Land
DK Jungle
Salty Sea
Mt. Dynamite
Scorching Canyon
Mammoth Glacier
Cranky's Temple
Rumble Falls
So many different stages

Items:
Balloons
Barrels
Bananas

Thanks for reading! Next up, we start in on the Donkey Konga series!